BT Edmonton Blogs

I am a big music fan.

I love a wide variety of genres and eras, but if pressed for my “top ten list” there is no question that the Eagles would be on it.  I was beside myself when I first learned that they would be playing here in Edmonton. And on a Saturday night, so I can actually sleep in until 6am the next morning!!! (Toddler wake-up time).

The tickets sold out quickly and I was unable to get one. Desperate, I put the call out to our viewers this morning. I was willing to buy a pair online but had never used any of the sites before and was looking for a little guidance with regards to credit card security. Thank you so much to all of you who talked me through the process, I feel confident that I could now handle an online transaction.

But that will have to wait for another day.

Here’s what happened:

A great big thank you to Jeff Nicholas and his family in St Albert, you just don’t know how you have made my week!!! (And best of luck to your son in his hockey tournament)

I will have a review on Monday, hope the rest of you are looking forward to your weekend as much as I am!

xo Wendy

Hello everyone, here is a link to a recording of the Ramshackle Day Parade. This took place on March 4th 2009 at Naked Cafe on jasper ave. I split it in 2, the first link is for the open mic and the second link is to the main acts.
http://www.archive.org/details/March4RamshackleDayParadeOpenMic

http://www.archive.org/details/RamshackleDayParade_646

I have uploaded the recordings to the amazing archive.org which you should check out if you have not already. It is full of creative commons material(that means free) like music, movies, books, software and more.

It was an amazing night of experimental music of many styles. Show goers filled the Naked Cafe around 7:30pm right in time to watch the Legendary Open Mic. The Ramshackle Day Parade is a monthly night of experimental music that is put on by CJSR and local promoter “the Ron Jeremy of the Edmonton Noise scene” ROY GARY BIV. It has been going on since last summer and gaining momentum with every successful show. Apparently it is getting an upgrade next month; I shall provide the details when I get them.

The night started off with an incredible set by open mic veteran Jaded Hipster choir. With violin in hand and Looping pedals that are continuously adding layers to the sound, Tomas rocked our fragile minds. His set was the an inspiring beginning to the rest of the night.

Next up was Max Uhlich, a new comer to the open mic that definitely was at home on the stage. His set of spacey melodies made me think of Boards of Canada or Black Moth Super Rainbow. My favorite part was that he played a Theremin through a grungy amp.

After a short break Slow Beef took the stage with a set of headphones wrapped around what looked like a great value village find of a stereo. The headphones acted as a microphone that picked up the static from the stereo which Trevor molded into beautiful sound textures, with a bit of mixer feed back for good measure.

Donald Fenniak wrapped up the open mic with some spacey delay ridden guitar riffs and vocals. It looked like the mic he was singing into was actually taped to the guitar. He even played 2 songs this time, finally

Once the Open Mic cleared off the stage the main acts for the night commenced. Damno Te was the first to play. Wildly distorted vocals through a bass amp is always a great thing, for me anyway. I wish he played for us a bit more, but he did have a bag full of free cds that should quench that thirst. Sorry but the picture i took of him didnt save or something.

Egasa Finally made the leap from the open mic to the main stage. Body shaking and eyes closed, it was as though his orgasmic movements were transformed into sound. I think everyone in the room could have used a cigarette after that set.

Finally Rape Seed took the stage and the walls started shaking. A four piece including ROY GARY BIV on clarinet, unmatched genius Dave spinning the turntable, yours truly playing bass and Dean of the now defunct Dead City Serpents beating the drums

Thanks to everyone who came out and to Naked Cafe for letting us play. Also a shout out to Parker Thiessen or ROY GARY BIV for organizing it all!

One last thing is everyone should try and make their way to the Hydeaway on sunday. There is a show going on to raise money for a huge window that was broken a couple weekends ago. So do your part to keep that place alive and bringing us great shows all the time.

hopefully this link to the facebook event works and will bring you the info on the what where and when. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=52714944710

I hope you all check out the recordings and the show and have a great weekend.

-Owen

Friday. It’s been circled on my calendar for more than a month. The day I step into the octagon with a pro fighter to “test my mettle,” as they say. As you may or may not have seen on BT (or on my blog entries below), I took a few training tips from our friends at the Hayabusa Training Centre in St. Albert. But really, could anything TRULY prepare me for what I would encounter when it came time to throw down?

The UFC’s Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald pulled chute Friday morning (citing horrible road conditions between his hometown of Red Deer and Edmonton…if you ask me, he was afraid he’d get beat on BT!), sending Edmonton’s own Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford in his place. Ford, a candidate for the World Welterweight title on the Maximum Fighting Championship, typically fights at 170 lbs – 33 lbs lighter than what he weighed in at before we squared off. He’s known for KO punching power and huge takedowns…I’ll let you decide how I held up (click below to watch the video).

As we close out the “Ryan in the Ring” feature, huge thanks again to Luke Harris and our friends at Hayabusa, the great gang at the brand-new Legend’s Training Centre in Edmonton, and to everybody else (including my fiancee, Kari Skelton – we’re getting married in TWO WEEKS!) who made/let this happen.

For the last time,
Ryan “The Full Meal Deal” Jespersen…OUT.

By this time tomorrow, I’ll either be walking with a whole new swagger…or laying in a hospital bed. There’s likely no middle ground. It’s time to pay the piper – our “Ryan in the Ring” week-long feature wraps up Friday morning at 8:20 when I get in the octagon with UFC fighter Jason MacDonald.

To help me survive, the fellas at St. Albert’s Hayabusa Training Centre have given me a few pointers. On Wednesday’s show, I mixed it up with the “stand up” specialists. In this installment, I hit the mat with the “ground” fighters. Enjoy!

rpj.

Two days and counting until I square off against UFC fighter Jason MacDonald live on the air – probably time to get a few training sessions in! I teamed up with the MMA warriors at St. Albert’s Hayabusa Training Centre – here’s the first of two sneak peeks into how they’re preparing me to survive the octagon.

Don’t forget to tune into BT Thursday morning at 8:40 for the second half of this report. And, of course, you won’t want to miss Friday’s fight at Edmonton’s brand new Legend’s Training Centre – live on BT at 8:20!

rpj.

Friday is fast-approaching! Just four days now ’til I hop in the octagon with UFC menace Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald live on BT at 8:20am.

Leading up to the bout, we’re featuring the phenomenon that is MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts. Today I try to pinpoint exactly what drives these gladiators to adopt such a taxing lifestyle, and see if the sport can sustain its explosive growth.

Be sure to tune into Breakfast Television tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8:40 for the first of two peeks into my training regimen with the fellas at St. Albert’s Hayabusa Training Centre…

rpj.

MMA. If it hasn’t hit you yet, it’s likely only a matter of time. Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest-growing sport in the world – but how much do we really understand about what goes on in the octagon?

“Ryan in the Ring” is a week-long feature airing daily on Breakfast Television, leading up to a big bout on Friday at 8:20 - Me vs. UFC fighter Jason MacDonald live on the air!

Before I fight for my life, I thought I’d take a better look at what makes these gladiators tick. Here’s my first report – on the “face” of today’s MMA fighter.

rpj.